A commitment to justice and peace has long been one of the hallmarks of how the Catholic Church operates on a global, national and local stage. But work for justice has always tended to receive more emphasis than work for peace

Persecution, censorship and environmental destruction are on the rise – but resistance is possible. What does it mean to be human? That question sits at the core of human rights. To be human has specific implications: human self-awareness and the actions taken to uphold human dignity – these are what gives the concept of humanity a special meaning.

Church officials in India want police to conduct a thorough probe into an attack on a Catholic church in Assam, saying it could be part of a plan to create religious-based divisions in the northeastern state ahead of Christmas. Parishioners of St. Thomas Church in Chapatoli, in Dibrugarh Diocese said they found their church vandalized on Dec. 15.

Every day news reports point to a world that is fracturing due to fear, prejudice and hate. We seem to forget the Golden Rule that is at the root of many of our religions and cultures: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” When we see refugees fleeing wars or migrants arriving in our countries looking for a better life, a raw human instinct pushes us to close our doors in their faces, to close our eyes and close our hearts.

Christine Allen, currently director of policy and public affairs at Christian Aid, will take up her new post at Cafod in the spring. Mr Bain has delayed his retirement until then, although a Mass of thanksgiving to mark his retirement is planned for 5 December at St George's Cathedral.

Looking back at the past, we acknowledge that there is nearly no region or nation which, in its history, has not seen the immigration of people moving though in caravans or even entire ethnic populations arriving with the intention to settle in lands distant from their homeland, considering them oases of refuge.

A young girl, almost as soon as she is old enough to walk, goes out to work in the fields with her mother and sibling. It is unrelentingly hot and the work is grindingly monotonous. In tilling and hoeing a small patch of unforgiving land, the family expend more calories than they will ever gain back from any produce they manage to grow.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence for blasphemy of Catholic woman Asia Bibi and ordered her release from prison. The mother of five was sentenced to death in 2010 on charges of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad during an argument with a Muslim farm worker. A three-member court bench comprising Chief Justice Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan announced the verdict on Oct. 31.

Beijing tightens screws to keep young generations de-rooted from traditional culture while flooding province with Han Chinese. Over the years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has adopted various means to instill the idea in native Tibetans that their traditional culture and religion are backwards, barbaric and based on superstitious beliefs.

Religious leaders, scholars and activists from around the globe ended a three-day interfaith forum in Indonesia on Aug. 16 with a message for world leaders to use a "middle path" to overcome poverty, discrimination, and extremism. Values such as goodness, tolerance, justice, solidarity, charity, and equality were the central theme of the 7th World Peace Forum in Jakarta attended by 250 people from 43 countries.

The island's rehabilitation, however, is also affecting longtime residents like Estelita. She and her family are being driven away from the only place they know as home. "Where will we go? We were born here. This is all we got," she said upon receiving a notice of eviction from authorities.

The magazine's front cover lit up social media in Italy soon after its release and has sparked a huge debate with some heavily criticising the cover headline while others have praised the editor for taking a courageous stand. Mr Salvini replied to Famiglia Cristiana via Twitter writing that while he is not a "perfect" Christian, "I do not think I deserve that."

Catholics have been caught up in a police crackdown aimed at suppressing opposition to a proposed special economic development plan and the approval of a controversial cybersecurity law. In Ho Chi Minh City, activists estimated that some 200 protesters, many of whom were Catholics, attempted to congregate in the city's downtown area but were detained, beaten and interrogated by police on June 17.

Father Richmond Villaflor Nil, gunned down as he was about to celebrate Mass, was fourth priest shot in last six months. Police said the priest was shot while he was putting on his alb to start the Mass. At least three shots were fired through the chapel's window. Father Nilo became the fourth Catholic priest to be shot in the Philippines in the last six months and the second within a week.

The Evening Standard’s special report on modern slavery, commissioned as part of this newspaper’s Slaves on Our Streets campaign, has been launched in Parliament. The report, which lays out 11 recommendations for governments and business to implement to combat slavery, is to be distributed to political and business leaders across Britain.

Catholic leaders in the state told ucanews.com on Jan. 23 that they will not apply for or accept the funding of 613 million rupees (US$10 million) for illuminations, landscaping, construction of parking lots and toilets among other infrastructure work at 37 churches. Federal tourism minister K.J. Alphons announced the grant on Jan. 8, just 10 days ahead of India's Election Commission declaring Feb. 27 as the date of provincial elections in the northeastern state.

That said, their ideals and hopes are very similar, and they would have much to talk about and discuss, like any other late teenagers and young adults. All of them had hope despite the situation in which they live. They really do think that life can get better, even though few of them can say how this would happen.